


clarifying insecurities

by psychopathicdorito (orphan_account)



Series: Adrinette April [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Adrinette April, F/M, Pre-Relationship, Protect Adrien 2k16, adrien almost gets hit by a bus, adrienette - Freeform, also also featuring: chloé is once again a bitch, also featuring: heavily ooc characters, day 6: being jealous, featuring: TIKKI FINALLY SPEAKS, idk about this one guys i don't like how this turned out, marinette and adrien arent even in a relationship but they know who their secret identities are, marinette gets jealous and it turns into angst, marinette wants to get to know adrien more, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6475993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/psychopathicdorito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien's certain that falling asleep during a project was the worst decision he had made so far. (Day #6 of Adrinette April. The topic for the day: being jealous).</p>
            </blockquote>





	clarifying insecurities

The moment Alya heard Marinette's pencil snapping into two, she knew something was up.

The girl hadn't even noticed that she had broken her pencil - it wasn't like Marinette had been really focusing on her work, either.

As Alya followed Marinette's gaze to find out what was bothering her best friend, she gave a sigh as she saw exactly what she had seen.

Adrien stifled a yawn as Chloé continued to talk about her trip to the Caribbean. They were supposed to be working on their project in English, but as soon as Chloé had learned Adrien was going to be her partner, she had immediately latched onto his arm and started yapping away.

It didn't help that Adrien didn't have the ability to tell her to focus on the project, or the fact that he was tired enough due to the fact Chat Noir and Ladybug had spent longer than usual fighting the akuma.

Now he was extremely tired and there was no way he was going to waste what little energy he had left into asking Chloé to focus on their project.

Marinette, however, despite being Ladybug (a fact known to only Adrien himself), looked like she had the energy to drag Adrien away from Chloé and then proceed to tear the girl apart limb from limb.

This she decided to tell Alya, whose eyes grew wide upon hearing that from her otherwise less threatening best friend.

"Girl, chill. You and Adrien have been hanging out for a while now, Chloé's got nothing on that." Alya said, trying to comfort Marinette.

At that precise moment, Chloé decided it was best to turn around, stick her tongue out at Marinette, and then continue to snuggle closer to Adrien, who was getting sleepier and less attentive by the second. 

He _knew_ he should have just told his father that he was too sleepy for the photo shoot he had made him attend the night before. Now he was suffering for the consequences, in the arms if a girl who was way less comfortable than Marinette was… 

Oh, _Marinette_.

She was…she was…she was…

With that final thought, Adrien lost the battle to sleep as his eyes drooped close, head falling sideways until it fell onto Chloé's head, a soft snore leaving his mouth.

Behind him, Marinette couldn't believe her eyes.

To her, it looked like Adrien had voluntarily leaned on Chloé for support, that he was enjoying his time spent with her.

He looked so much more at peace than when he was with her. 

Marinette felt as if her heart was breaking into a million tiny pieces. _That_ was how Chat acted around Ladybug before they had revealed their identities. Now, the superhero didn't even bother to make puns, instead acting more formal than usual. 

That was how Adrien would never act around Marinette, no matter if they were their alter egos or not, because try as she may, Adrien would never like a klutz like Marinette. 

" _Dude!_ " Nino exclaimed, throwing an eraser at the back of Adrien's head to wake him up. The boy jolted, suddenly wide awake, and turned around just in time to see Marinette making her way out of her seat, and with what looked like tears brimming in her eyes.

Alya and Nino were both glaring at him, as if they were both accusing him of something he had no idea of.

"Here." The force that Marinette used to slam the paper on Adrien's table made everyone look their way. She gave a forced smile, and yes, those were definitely tears in her eyes. "There's how to solve your assignment. You don't need to come over later. I think you're too busy, anyway."

Everything about her tone was so bitter and so harsh and so unlike Marinette that Adrien couldn't process the fact the Marinette he knew had said it.

By the time he had recovered, Marinette had just left the room.

"Marinette! Marinette, wait!" he exclaimed, grabbing the paper she had given him and following her out the door. Behind him, Chloé started to scream his name in protest, but she really wasn't Adrien's priority as of the moment.

He caught up with her just as she was about to make her way down the stairs, grabbing her wrist, making her stop. "Marinette, is it something I did?" he asked, genuinely worried about what he had apparently done. "Please, just talk to me." 

"It's not you." Marinette stated, her voice cracking the same way Adrien's heart broke upon hearing it. "It was me, hoping I had a chance with you when you're perfect and I'm just Marinette, just the clumsy girl who can never get anything right."

He couldn't get a word in, shocked he had made her feel the way. He felt disgusted with himself, outright terrible. "Marinette-" 

"It's Ladybug you're in love with, Adrien." Marinette interrupted, eyes showing just how hurt she was in coming to the realization. "It's Ladybug and not me. Not Marinette. You love the girl who has the power and confidence to do things no one else could, not the girl who trips and falls and isn't perfect like you." 

"Finally, she's said something right!" 

Adrien whipped around, eyes murderous as he stared down at the blonde girl he had used to call his friend. "Chloé..." he growled, warning her not to say anything else, but it seemed like her self-esteem had gotten the best of her. 

"Look, Marinette." Chloé sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "There are just some things that don't go well together. You're a fashion designer, right? So you know that. And it just so happens that one of those things are you and Adrien." 

"Chloé!" Adrien was furious now, trying so hard to keep his anger back. Marinette stood still beside him, tears streaming down her face as she undoubtedly took to heart everything Chloé was saying. 

"And what _does_ go together is Adrien and _moi._ " Chloé had made sure to emphasize the last word loud and clear, smirking in the process. "So you should stop assuming things and stop being jealous when you have no right over Adrien."

_Jealous?_

Adrien's mind flashed back to where he had fallen asleep and then back to when he had woken up.

Slowly, he pieced everything together: the way Chloé had been grinning at him, the way Nino had woken him up with an eraser, the way Marinette had told him he was too busy for her. 

"You're right, Chloé." Marinette spoke up, her eyes sadder than anything Adrien had ever seen. He wanted so much to tell her that things were not how she thought they were, that he had fallen asleep, that he was willing to make up for whatever it was he needed to make up for. "I should have stopped assuming things long ago." 

Marinette turned to Adrien, sighing as she stated, "I just wish you had warned me about it in the first place." 

She gave them one last smile that mirrored all of the hurt she was feeling, and proceeded to hurriedly make her way down the stairs.

Adrien's breathing was fast, getting slower and slower as he tried to calm himself down. "Chloé, get away." 

"What?" the blonde girl asked him. "Adrikins-" 

" _Don't_ call me that." Adrien snapped, closing his eyes as he felt her recoil at the venom in his voice. "Just...get away. I don't want to hurt you with anything I say." 

"Oh, Adrikins, you can tell me how you're feeling." Chloé purred, wrapping her arm around Adrien's own, but the latter immediately took a step back, glaring at her angrily. 

"Chloé, I'm telling you one last time. I don't want to say anything I'll regret later on, so for both our sake's, get. _Back._ " 

In his peripheral view, Adrien saw Alya angrily grab Chloé by the arm and pull her behind her, nodding to Adrien. "Fix it." she stated, every bit of her body language saying that if Adrien wouldn't do something, she would never forgive him. 

Alya was a good friend. 

As soon as he made it out, he caught the glimpse of a small pink figure - Tikki. Marinette's kwami was out in the open, looking worried and then relieved as she saw Adrien. 

"She made her way to the park and dropped me." Tikki explained, making her way to Adrien. Plagg had come out of his hiding place as well, for once looking worried for his holder. 

"She dropped you and didn't notice?" Adrien echoed, feeling more and more worried by the second. 

Marinette was out in the open, distraught, crying, _and_ she had left her purse. 

" _Shit!_ " Adrien exclaimed, running at top speed into the traffic. Here and there, cars and trucks angrily honked at him, but he didn't care, it _wasn't important_. 

Marinette could _not_ get akumatized, she couldn't, she couldn't, she - 

"Marinette!" 

The raven-haired girl looked up from where she was holding a crumpled drawing, eyes wide as she saw her kwami. "T-Tikki?" 

"I was so worried! We thought you were going to get akumatized, and Adrien almost got hit by a bus!" Tikki relayed the story to her holder, who looked up at Adrien in horror. 

"You almost let yourself get hit by a bus?!" she exclaimed, looking her friend up and down in fear. "What were you thinking?" 

"That I had to apologize to you and let you know that I didn't _mean_ to fall asleep on Chloé! It was a mistake, I was thinking about you, and -" 

"You thought about me while you were with Chloé?! What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Marinette challenged. 

" _No!_ " Adrien was exasperated, tired, and hoping Marinette would understand his point. "She wasn't comfortable, but you are, and I fell asleep thinking about you!" 

"What?!" 

Nothing he said was making sense! 

Adrien took in a deep breath, grabbing Marinette by the shoulders as he started to explain, "I was sleepy because after our fight with the akuma, Father had me attend another photo shoot. That's why I didn't have the strength to tell Chloé to focus on our project, and what she was talking about was starting to make me realize that you're so much more comfortable with, and then I imagined that you were right beside me and I fell asleep because I felt safe and happy knowing you were there!" 

Marinette was silent as she stared up at him, a familiar blush covering her face. "Y-you really mean that?" 

"Of course!" Adrien sighed happily, slumping down onto a nearby park bench. He had done his job, Marinette had understood his side, _all was well_. 

Or...maybe not. 

"Then I don't understand why you always act so formal when we're Ladybug and Chat Noir." Marinette asked. "You used to have so much fun when we didn't know each other's identity, and after we revealed who we were, you just seemed so.... _distant_." 

It was Adrien's turn to blush, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's, uh, a long story." 

Marinette sat beside him, nodding her head as if to signalize him to tell the story. Adrien gulped, biting his lip before deciding to continue. 

"I just wanted to live up to your expectations." 

"Excuse me?" Marinette was clearly confused. "What expectations?" 

"Well, to almost everyone, Adrien Agreste is the perfect person. I don't know why, 'cause I'm not, but that's how most people think. You included. When you didn't know I was Chat Noir, I made sure I was noticeably different from who I was without the mask. Now that you do know, I'm just doing my best to act like the Adrien Agreste you know so that I won't disappoint you." 

"And I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl behind Ladybug's mask who trips on something almost every day and has this embarrassingly huge crush on the guy sitting in front of her." Marinette smiled, looking at Adrien with loving, soft eyes. "Now that you know I'm also Ladybug, I'm wondering whether you thought less of her."

" _What?!_ " Adrien exclaimed, wondering how on _earth_ Marinette had thought of that. "Of course not! I mean, after spending more time with you, I'm actually starting to love you more."

Although Marinette blushed at that, she nodded in agreement. "Same goes to you. Chat Noir's who you _really_ are, that's something I've learned throughout these past months. And honestly, I'm starting to miss that little kitty."

Adrien's eyes sparkled with happiness. "So, you admit that I'm _purr_ -fect?" 

Marinette smirked. "You're usually better than that, kitty."

"Forgive me, bugaboo." Adrien yawned. "I usually get my amazing puns from my dreams, and I've been deprived of that."

"Well, don't let me get in the way of that, then."

"Do I have your permission to use your head as a pillow, My Lady?"

Marinette stifled a giggle, but she nodded, playing along with Adrien, the side of Chat she had missed so long. "What a weird request…go ahead." 

Adrien smiled, doing precisely that and sighing in relief as he snuggled up closer to Marinette. "Hey, Mari?"

"Hm?"

"Chloé's a good person if she wants to, but I'll never love anyone as much as you. You need to know that."

Marinette blushed. "Even if I'm making you wait this long?"

"Waiting for someone as _miraculous_ as you, princess, is always worth it." Adrien answered, closing his eyes as he fell asleep.

Marinette shook her head in amusement, smiling at the soft snore that left the model's mouth. 

"Sweet dreams, _mon minou_."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don't even _know_ if this counts as being jealous. All I'm certain of is that that's how it started. I hope you guys still like it, though! 
> 
> Thank you so much for all your kind comments on my last work! I wasn't feeling really good that day, and your comments seriously made me feel better! Hearing that my writing helps you guys feel better is also something I never get tired of hearing! You guys are the best, I love you all! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug is owned by Thomas Astruc and Zagtoon. This is a work of fiction by a fan and is non-canon.


End file.
